new slops - step by step

[madPete]

Since I'm in the process of making a pair of slops, I started taking pics. figured might be a good tutorial.

First - I'm going to mention washing and drying your fabric on high heat. This will eliminate 95% of any shrinkage in the fabric. You certainly dont want them to shrink after being stitched together and taking your careful measurements into consideration

 

Here are the main sections of fabric  cut for the slops. two fronts and two backs. Left front and left back will be stitched together at the side seam. As will the right front and right back.

 

[madPete]

Here are the main sections pinned and ready to hand stitch fly and back opening. make sure to do opposites on right and left sides (i.e. a mirror image)!!

 

[madPete]

Now left side front and left side back get stitched together at the side seam. Same with right side front and right back. I machine stitched this portion.  stitch sides together right side to right side. fold hems over on the inside (wrong side). Lay down on the fabric and stitch through the edge of the hem and the main body. Optionally you can stitch just the edge of the hem.  French seam diagram for clarity...

[madPete]

Cut two waistbands approx 2  1/2 inches wide, and 1 inch longer than half your total waist size. This allows a half inch hem and each end of the waistband. Cut a second set for the inside of the waistband. I always use a softer linen on the inside, sometimes the heavy linen is a bit scratchy.  Often I'll used striped linen as a lining for the waistband. pin them together right-side to right-side (if there is one, most linen is the same either side)

The waist bands are then exactly half the total waist size. 1 for each half of the main body of the slops., right side and left side. When you put a button hole in the front left of the waistband, the waistband will overlap and inch or so. This opens a slight gap in back where the tie will go and leaves a small amount of adjustment with the ties in back.

Stitch starting at one end. I backstitch at the ends and every 3-4 inches over the entire length. Then if a thread breaks it only unravels to the point of the backstitch and is easily repaired. Not that this is a problem, but slops are made for heavy work, so...

Stitch the length of the waistband on one side only. Stitch both ends. Trim the corners, so when it is turned right-side out, the corners are not bunched together.

[madPete]

Turn the waistband right-side out and flatten. spray with a spray bottle and iron the waistband flat. I didnt have a spray bottle so I got a little crazy splashing water on the waistbands. trim any excess from the hems so its fairly even. you can shorten the height of the waistband at this point if you wish. I try to keep them about 1 to 1-1/2 inches wide plus the hem width.

[madPete]

Next is handstitching, although you can do this with a machine. Its one of the few parts that may be visible at times.

 

Before you stitch make sure you've pinned them on the proper side of the body, so that you have two halves mirror image of each other.

Hand stitch the inside of the fly on the right and left main body

Hand stitch the back opening on the right and left main body.

 

[madPete]

Lay each side of the body flat on the floor or table. right-side of fabric up.

Pin the ends and the center of the waistband to the body. Material right-side to right-side. On the fly and back opening pin the waistband flat for about an inch from each end.

If you do gathers the traditional way, now is the time. I dont do gathers the traditional way, so what follows is just my method..

I then split the difference on the extra material and pin again in the center of waistband that is still loose.. basicaly splitting the difference each time. Then I proceed to bunch the fabric every 1/4 to 1/2 inch and pin. This is the way I do gathers.

Once you have this pinned, you can hand stitch or machine stitch (1/4 to 3/8 inch from the edge). Up to you, because this ends up hidden inside the waistband.

Note: I flipped one side over after I pinned both.

[madPete]

TBD - More to Follow...

[Mary Diamond]

Beautifully done and so helpfully illustrated, thank you!